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Patent Reform: Overview and Comparison of S. 507 and H.R. 400

Description: The pending omnibus patent reform bills (S. 507 and H.R. 400) would reorganize the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) as a government corporation and enact several other patent law reforms including early publication (with exceptions) and patent term restoration. S. 507 consists of six titles; H.R. 400 contains five titles.
Date: August 4, 1998
Creator: Schrader, Dorothy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property Protection for Noncreative Databases

Description: Copyright law protects works of authorship that exhibit original, creative expression, including creativity in the selection, arrangement, or coordination both of traditional printed and electronic databases. Noncreative databases are not subject to copyright protection, although some protection is available through a combination of contract law, trade secrecy law, and misappropriation doctrines of state law.
Date: September 15, 1999
Creator: Schrader, Dorothy & Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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American Inventors Protection Act of 1999

Description: After several years of consideration, on Friday, November 19, 1999, Congress gave final approval to a bill which makes major changes to the patent laws. On this day the Senate passed the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 as part of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, attached by reference to the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000. This report summarizes major provisions of the patent reform bill.
Date: February 28, 2000
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Copyright Doctrine of Fair Use and the Internet: Caselaw

Description: This report examines the evolving copyright doctrine of fair use within the context of copyrighted works published or placed on the Internet. American courts have been examining the various property rights of copyright owners concurrently with the unauthorized use of these copyrighted materials by Web site operators, Internet consumers, access providers, and other interested parties. This report analyzes the early fair use copyright cases concerning Internet use, as well as the most recent judi… more
Date: March 30, 2000
Creator: Weimer, Douglas R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Examination of the Issues Surrounding Biotechnology Patenting and Its Effect Upon Entrepreneurial Companies

Description: The biotechnology industry is notable both for its heavy concentration of small businesses and its weighty research and development (R&D) expenditures. Given the small size and heavy expenses of many biotechnology firms, their ability to raise venture capital may be of some consequence. The patent law has been identified as a facilitator of these R&D financing efforts. Congress may choose to exercise oversight on these issues. Such consideration would likely include examination of U.S. commitme… more
Date: August 31, 2000
Creator: Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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R&D Partnerships and Intellectual Property: Implications for U.S. Policy

Description: Congressional interest in the value of intellectual property has grown as technology becomes increasingly important to the United States. It is now widely accepted that technological progress accounts for up to one-half of the nation's economic growth. Concurrently, the role of patents has changed as the use of cooperative research and development (R&D) expands to facilitate this technological advancement and generate new products, processes, and services for the marketplace.
Date: December 6, 2000
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patent Ownership and Federal Research and Development (R and D): A Discussion on the Bayh-Dole Act and the Stevenson-Wydler Act

Description: Two major laws govern the dispensation of patents associated with federal research and development (R&D) activities. Both P.L. 96-418, the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act, as amended, and P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act (commonly referred to as "Bayh-Dole" after its two main sponsors, former Senators Birch Bayh and Robert Dole), are the foundation for efforts to utilize patent ownership to encourage the commercialization of technologies and techniques that hav… more
Date: December 11, 2000
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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New York Times Co. v. Tasini: The U.S. Supreme Court Affirms “Authorial” Rights in Copyright

Description: This report examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in New York Times Co. v. Tasini. This case considers whether, under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 201(c), publishers are “privileged” to include the copyrighted articles of freelance authors in an electronic database.
Date: July 13, 2001
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fair Use on the Internet

Description: The originating objective of copyright, as stated in the Constitution, was to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. Rewarding the labor of authors is viewed as furthering that objective. The Copyright Act serves this two-tier purpose by vesting in authors of protected works certain exclusive rights. This report reviews the development of fair use on the Internet.
Date: May 21, 2002
Creator: Jennings, Christopher Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Plants, Patents, and Seed Innovation in the Agricultural Industry

Description: This report offers an overview of the availability of intellectual property rights for plants, focusing upon the seed industry. It initially offers an introduction to seed innovation. The report then reviews the three intellectual property regimes applicable to plant innovation: utility patents, plant patents and plant variety protection certificates. It then details a 2001 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., which held that sexuall… more
Date: September 13, 2002
Creator: Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Copyright Term Extension: Eldred v. Ashcroft

Description: This report examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Plaintiffs/Petitioners challenged the constitutionality under the Copyright Clause of a law adding 20 years to the terms of existing and future copyrights. The law was upheld by both the U.S. district court and the court of appeals considering it. Among the questions before the Supreme Court was whether Congress may retrospectively extend the term of copyright for existing copyrights; and, what role and impact, if any… more
Date: February 14, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Digital Rights" and Fair Use in Copyright Law

Description: This report examines judicial case law which has considered the doctrine of fair use in relation to the First Amendment, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and as a means of protecting private, noncommercial use of digital music and film by consumers. It concludes that when the potential to infringe is great, as it almost always will be in a digital environment, the courts have not been willing to expand fair use to encompass subsidiary uses such as time shifting, space shifting, or personal… more
Date: March 24, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Geographical Indications and WTO Negotiations

Description: This report discusses the issue of expanding intellectual property protections for geographical indications for wines, spirits, and agricultural products is being debated in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Date: July 14, 2003
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Genetically Engineered Soybeans: Acceptance and Intellectual Property Rights Issues in South America

Description: This report discusses issues regarding genetically engineered soybeans in South America. U.S. soybean growers and trade officials charge that Argentina and Brazil–the United States’ two major export competitors in international soybean markets–gain an unfair trade advantage by routinely saving genetically-engineered (GE), Roundup Ready (RR) soybean seeds from the previous harvest (a practice prohibited in the United States) for planting in subsequent years.
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Copyright Law: Statutory Royalty Rates for Webcasters

Description: This report surveys the procedures for and the results of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel’s (CARP’s) February 20, 2002 Report making recommendations for statutory royalty rates for eligible nonsubscription webcasters.
Date: November 18, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Copyright Law: Digital Rights Management Legislation

Description: Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to the technology that copyright owners use to protect digital media. This report surveys several of the DRM bills that were introduced in the 107th Congress and those that are pending in the 108th Congress. Generally, the bills are directed at two separate goals. One goal is to increase access to digitally-protected media for lawful purposes. The other attempts to thwart digital piracy and would do so by enhancing civil and criminal sanctions for digital … more
Date: December 18, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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H.R. 1417: The Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004

Description: H.R. 1417, 108th Congress, first session, was introduced on March 25, 2003 and passed by the House on March 3, 2004. If enacted, this bill would make extensive changed to the procedural framework for adjudicating royalty rates for compulsory licenses under the Copyright Act. This report details the background and legislative action on the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004.
Date: March 8, 2004
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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H.R. 1417: The Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004

Description: H.R. 1417, 108th Congress, first session, was introduced on March 25, 2003 and passed by the House on March 3, 2004. If enacted, this bill would make extensive changed to the procedural framework for adjudicating royalty rates for compulsory licenses under the Copyright Act. This report details the background and legislative action on the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004.
Date: April 22, 2004
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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